Endless-tread machine-supporting means



June 1, 1937. a. H. FLYNN v 2,032,693

ENDLESS TREAD MACHINE SUPPORTING MEANS Filed March 24, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IE 1E.1..

a a M m! BENJAM/N h. fZY/v/v Mowwna WITNESS v June 1, 1937. B. H. FLYNN ENDLESS TREAD MACHINE SUPPORTING MEIXNS Filed March 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIJ Ill. K

WITNES w. w PM June 1, 1937. H FLYNN 2,082,693

END LESS TREAD MACHINE SUPPORTING MEANS Filed March 24, 1936 3 SheetsSheet 5 3 t 46 44 4' i 1 I 44' 45 H 45 a 6 415 4.5 5ENJ'A Ml/v f2 YNN WITNESS Patented June 1, 1937 PATENT orries ENDLESS-TREAD MACHINE SUPPORTING MIEAN S Benjamin H. Flynn, Alexandria, La.

Application March 24, 1936-, Serial No. 70,657

6 Claims.

The invention aims to provide a new and advantageous endless-tread supporting means for various kinds of mobile machines, for instance, tractors, concrete mixers, cranes, excavators,

sub-graders, ditchers, and various kinds of trucks, wagons or carts designed for hauling purposes.

In carrying out the above end, further objects are to. eliminate sprockets, except for driving purposes on self-propelled machines, by the use of, special roller-type tread chains and track frames engaging said chains; to relieve any driving sprockets which may be used from load-supporting and lateral strains; to provide for minimum friction between the chains and tracks and between said chains and any driving sprockets which. may be required; to make novel provision. for anti-frictionally receiving all side thrusts of the, tracks onv the chains and. vice versa; to pre- 2 vent dust and dirt from accumulating on the tracks and interfering with free movement of the chains; and to provide a highly reliable and durable construction.

With the-foregoing and minor objects in View, the invention. resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described. and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a construction in which the endless-tread chain is driven only by contact with the supporting surface.

Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sectional views on lines 2"--2-I and 3--3 of Fig. 1 respectively.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing a construction in which a driving sprocket is used for the endless-tread chain.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail longitudinal sectional view online 5I6 of Fig. 5.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are detail sectional ,views through a portion of the chain showing a roller of different proportions and illustrating three of the various bearing arrangements which may be employed with the rollers of the chain.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a different track frame and chain construction.

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view on line ll-l| of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a View similar to Fig. 11 but showing a driving sprocket which may be'used to drive thechain.

The endless-tread chain I5- shown in Figs. 1, 2i. and 3- isdriven only by contact with the supporting surface, and if it is totravel uponl a supporting rail, its tread plates I6 may be provided with guiding flanges IT. These flanges, however, may be omitted when the chain is to travel directly upon the ground. Between its side links IS, the chain I5 is provided with transverse rollers Zllmounted in any preferred way, each of said rollers being provided with tapered ends 2! and with a cylindrical intermediate central portion 22. These rollers may be of any desired length and diameter, according to the weight of the machine to be supported.

A track frame 23 is provided, around which the chain i5 is trained, said track frame having a central bearing 24 to receive an axle, stubshaft or the like 25 of the machine to be supported. This track frame is provided with upper and lower horizontal portions 26 and 21 engaging the rollers 20 of the upper and lower reaches of the chain 15, and is provided with curved ends 28 within the front and rear bight portions of said chain and engaging the rollers thereof. The roller-engaging edge of the track frame is slightly channeled to provide it with a V-shaped transverse formation, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, providing thrust surfaces 29 which contact with the tapered ends 2| of the rollers 28, said tapered ends constituting end-thrust surfaces for said rollers, so that the chain l5 cannot shift laterally with respect to the track frame 23, or vice versa. The cylindrical central portions 22 of the rollers 20 merely span but do not contact with the edge of the track frame 23, leaving a space 3!) into which the rollers may crowd any dust or dirt which might otherwise accumulate upon the roller-engaging surfaces 29 of said track frame. Provision is made for conducting. the dust and dirt from the space 30' as hereinafter described.

The track frame 23, in the present disclosure is of hollow form and its upper portion 26 is formed with a plurality of suitably spaced openings 3! which lead to the interior of said track frame from the space 39-, to conduct dirt and the like from said space into the track frame. Directly above its lower portion 21, the track frame '23 is provided with lateral discharge openings 32 for any dirt and the like received in said track frame. A structure is thus provided which will be self-cleaning instead of permitting dirt and the like to accumulate upon the roller-engaging surfaces.

t On hauling carts and the like requiring only two endless-tread supports, one at each side, the construction so far described may be used. This construction may also be employed on hauling wagons, trucks and the like requiring two endless-tread supports at the front and two at the rear, all driven by contact with the supporting surface. On self-propelled machines requiring two endless-tread supports at one end merely driven by contact with a supporting surface and two power-driven endless tread supports at the other end, the structure so far described may be employed at said one end. For the other end, the construction illustrated in Figs. 4, and 6 may be used. This construction may, if made sufliciently long, constitute the sole means for supporting one side of a machine, a duplicate construction being employed for the opposite side.

The chain l5 in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 may be considered as a duplicate of the chain 15, and the track frame 23 as a duplicate of the track frame 23, with the exception that one end of said track frame 23 is provided between its sides with a notch 33' which receives a driving sprocket 33 which engages the rollers of one of the bight portions of the chain, said sprocket engaging the central cylindrical portions 22 of the rollers but not the tapered track-engaging ends 21*. In the construction shown, the sprocket 33 is provided with a hub 34 passing through openings 35 in the sides of the track frame 23*, said hub being keyed or otherwise secured upon a driven aXle or shaft 36 of the machine. Part of the machine weight is thus transmitted to the sprocket-equipped end of the track frame 23 and for transmitting machine weight to the other end of said track frame, any appropriate provision may be made, a portion of such provision being shown in the form of a lateral projection 37 on the track frame. The track frame 23 transmits the weight to the lower reach of the chain we and relieves the driving sprocket 33 of load-supporting strain. Moreover, as the end-thrust surfaces 2W of the chain rollers and the coacting surfaces 29 of the track frame receive all lateral thrusts, the sprocket is relieved of such thrusts and friction between chain and sprocket is minimized.

Figs, 7, 8 and 9 disclose fragments of either of the chains I5 or l5 but illustrate rollers 20 of greater diameter and somewhat shorter than the rollers shown in the preceding views. In Fig. 7, roller bearings 38 are shown between the rollers and the pivot pins 39 of the chain; in Fig. 8, bearing bushings All are provided between the rollers and the pivot pins; and in Fig. 9, merely the walls of the roller bores M engage said pivot pins. These views merely show three of the many different bearing arrangements which may be employed in mounting any of the rollers employed on the chains.

In Figs. l0, l1 and 12, a tread chain 42 is shown in the form of a triple width roller chain although a chain of double width, quadruple width, etc., could be employed. The chain 42, due to its triple width, includes a central set of rollers 43 and other sets 44 along the edges of the chain, and the outermost side links of said chain carry suitable tread plates 45 which may be flanged at 5-6 if the chain is to travel upon a rail.

A track frame 41' is surrounded by the chain 42 and is provided with two continuous track portions 48 and with a continuous channel 49 between said track portions 48, said track portions engaging the rollers 44. The track frame 41 may be hollow if desired and provided with dirt inlet openings 50 from the channel 49, to its interior and with lateral dirt discharge openings 5|.

The chain 42 may be driven only by contact with the supporting surface, or it may be powerdriven, and in the latter case a driving sprocket 52 (Fig. 12) is provided to engage the central set of rollers 43, said sprocket occupying one of the bight portions of said chain, and being mounted in a notch 53 in the track frame 4?. The sprocket 52 and rollers :13 receive only the driving strain, all other strains being received by the track frame d? and rollers l4. All of these rollers may be mounted in any preferred way.

It will be seen from the foregoing that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferred features of construction have been disclosed, variations may of course be made, within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In a mobile machine'supporting means, an endless tread chain having transverse rollers, a track frame surrounded by said chain and having a continuous edge engaging the rollers thereof, said track frame being of hollow form and having dirt inlet openings from its upper rollerengaging portion into its interior, the lower portion of said track frame being provided with lateral dirt discharge openings above its lower roller-engaging portion.

2. In a mobile machine supporting means, an endless tread chain having transverse roller portions along the center of the chains and toward the edges of the chain, a track frame around which said chain is trained, said track frame having a peripheral edge contacting with the roller portions toward the edges of the chain but not with those along the center of the chain, leaving a dirt-receiving space between said edge and said central roller portions, said track frame being hollow and having dirt-conducting openings in its upper portion leading to its interior from said space, the lower portion of said track frame being provided with lateral dirt discharge openings.

3. In a mobile machine supporting means, an endless tread chain having transverse rollers provided with tapered ends, a track frame around which said chain is trained, said track frame having a channeled transversely V-shaped edge engaging the tapered ends of the rollers and spanned by the central portions of said rollers, leaving a dirt-receiving space between said track edge and said central portions of the rollers, said track frame being hollow and having dirtinlet openings in its upper portion leading to its interior from said space, the lower portion of said track frame being provided with lateral dirt discharge openings.

4. In a mobile machine supporting means, an endless tread chain provided with transverse rollers, a track frame around which said chain is trained, said track frame being of hollow form and having dirt inlet openings from its upper chain-engaging portion to its interior, said track frame being provided with lateral dirtdischarge openings above its lower chain-engaging portion.

5. In a mobile machine supporting means, an endless tread chain having front and rear bight portions, said chain being provided with transverse rollers having tapered ends and cylindrical central portions, a driving sprocket within one of said b ight portions and engaging only the cylindrical roller portions thereof, and a track frame resting upon the rollers of the lower reach of said chain and having curved ends engaging the rollers of both said front and rear bight portions, said track frame having a channeled transversely V-shaped edge engaging said tapered ends of said rollers, the central portion of said transversely V-shaped edge being 10 spaced from said cylindrical central portions of said rollers to provide a dirt-receiving space, one end of said track frame being provided with a notch in which said driving sprocket is mounted.

6. In a mobile machine supporting means, a track frame having two continuous peripheral track portions and a continuous peripheral channel between said track portions, one end of said track frame being formed with a notch opening into said channel, a driving sprocket whose toothed peripheral portion passes through said notch into said channel, and a continuous tread chain having rollers engaging said track portions and. other rollers engaging the teeth of said sprocket, said chain having longitudinal links which straddle said track portions.

BENJAMIN H. FLYNN. 

